The Ann Arbor-based Association for Advancing Automation (A3) will host the 2026 International Robot Safety Conference (IRSC) Nov. 3-5 at Huntington Place in downtown Detroit.
The conference brings together engineers, safety professionals, manufacturers, and system integrators to examine robot safety standards and their application in the workplace.
The Detroit location provides the conference a direct connection to manufacturers and suppliers putting industrial automation to work.
“Robot safety requirements have to translate into decisions people can make on the plant floor,” says Carole Franklin, director of standards development for robotics at A3. “IRSC gives attendees a chance to work through those questions directly with the experts who develop and apply the standards.”
Sessions are designed to address how the newly updated global robot standard, R.1506-2025, will impact established robot installations as well as collaborative applications, mobile robots and emerging technologies.
Conference speakers include experts from Amazon Robotics, ABB, NVIDIA, Procter & Gamble, Universal Robots, Yaskawa America, Mobile Industrial Robots, SICK, Agility Robotics, Boston Dynamics, OSHA, and more.
Highlights from the agenda include:
New requirements for robot users — Amazon Robotics’ Jamison Harrell-Latham and Krupal Patel will address R15.06 Part 3 (industrial) and R15.08 Part 3 (mobile).
Humanoid and legged robot safety — Agility Robotics’ Kevin Reese and Boston Dynamics’ Federico Vicentini will explore safety challenges for dynamically stable industrial mobile robots.
Physical AI and robot safety — NVIDIA’s Riccardo Mariani will discuss safety standardization and use cases.
Safety in existing installations — Procter & Gamble’s Mark Lewandowski will address auditing and maintaining safety in robot installations.
Additional sessions will cover risk assessment, common hazards in conventional robot cells, integrators’ responsibilities, and OSHA’s perspective on industrial robot safety. The full agenda is available online.
IRSC offers full and partial conference registration options. Registration includes access to conference sessions on selected days, tabletop exhibits, and a networking reception. Certificates of attendance with CEU credits are available upon request.
For more information and to register, visit here.
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